Customer Reviews

Shapechanger's Song (Chronicles of the Cheysuli, Bk. 1: Shapechangers and Bk. 2: The Song of Homana)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First of all, I'd like to say that I hate when reviewers tell others to ignore those reviews that disagree with them, as if only their own opinion is valid. I hope any who reads these reviews in order to decide whether it is a book they want to read will look at them all with an open mind. That said...

I loved the intricacy of the world, and became infatuated with the Cheysuli as a race. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the characters, however. The only characters I consistently liked were the Lir. Reasons: I got really tired of Alix's hypocrisy very quickly. Her cries against racial prejudice while possessing the same got old fast. I was relieved when she finally seemed to get over it, but I would have appreciated it never having been there to begin with, since it was an inconsistency in her character.

I also had a few problems with the Cheysuli. Their attitude toward women rather surprised me coming from a female author. They seem to place a woman's value ENTIRELY on her ability to bring children into the world. As if that isn't enough, Finn (who for some reason some reviewers are in love with) admits that he's willing to commit rape in order to try to replenish their dwindling numbers. I see no shame from him about this fact, and it wouldn't bother me if he was a villain. But Finn is a character I am expected to like. I am expected to like an unrepentant would-be rapist.

The author has an unhealthy love of adverbs as well. Candles should flicker, not glow flickeringly. People frown at other people. Don't stare frowningly, that sounds ridiculous. Her editor should be slapped for allowing such abuse of grammar. It comes across as incredibly unprofessional.

I will continue reading this series because the world has a lot of promise, and I'm going to hold onto some hope that these problems might be worked out and it might be improved upon. I'll cross my fingers.

I'm sure you can find better reading on shapeshifters, if you like the idea. I hadn't read any books on this particular fantasy concept before, so I read this whole volume (containing the first 2 books in this series) when a friend gave it to me. I don't know how I got through both books; maybe for the same reason I can watch one or two episodes of a Bravo show when I'm really, really bored and want to watch some heavy-handed made-for-TV epic interpersonal interaction failures. But at least that takes less time!

Pros of this book:
- makes you feel good about your own amateur writing skill
- I actually liked the phonetics of most of Roberson's race and place names and of her created language
- the intro is hilarious; the author basically brags about her "success" when in actuality, she tells us about how much she has always sucked

Cons:
- Astounding levels of traditional sexism. Roberson says in her intro that male readers wrote to her about how another story she wrote "opened their eyes to women as people," so I was expecting to see some strong female characters here as well. However, for all that Alix has special powers, her real value in the story lies in her womb. Her "strong will" is just pig-headed stubbornness, which leads to stupid decisions that magically work out due to her main-character glow. The potential for her to defy expectations, break down gender roles, and become a powerful player in her own right, comes to nothing by the end of the first book, at which point it dies because the second book is about Carillon. So in sum, Alix is only special because of her racial heritage, not because of her personality or actions.

In fact, the only female characters are Alix, Electra, and Carillon's sister and mother, and those last three get nearly no air-time nor development. Throughout the two books, gender roles are fixed (highly in favor of men) and never change, so not only does this make the female characters themselves disappointing, but it makes it hard to like the male characters who have the power to change it but don't. Every male main character (Duncan, Carillon, and Finn) is at some point given the option to think differently about women and their abilities or their rights, and every single time, they stick to their patriarchal myopia.

- epic interpersonal interaction failures! No one ever listens to anyone else. Each character just has their own strong opinions or preconceptions, and if they're ever proven wrong, it takes _forever_. It's not "realistic," it's just frustrating.

- the characters are all pretty static. Some surface things change; Alix mostly accepts her heritage, Carillon grows older and becomes king, etc., but no one ever fundamentally changes. Oh, except Finn, who by the second book _finally stops trying to rape Alix_. (What a terrible character! Even after she becomes wife of the clan leader (his own brother), he continues to call her the Cheysuli equivalent of "whore," all the time, to her face. _And we are supposed to LIKE him_.)

- very few characters; very myopic view of the world. For example, we have two main locations in these books - the Cheysuli Keep and the Homanan palace. Both are places where the main characters _live_ and _spend a lot of time_ but somehow we don't know anyone else who lives there. Not only do we not know their names, but they're barely even mentioned as being _present_. It's almost Twilight-Zone-esque - "where _is_ everybody?" Roberson has some okay physical descriptions of people's looks, clothes, and immediate surroundings, but she doesn't seem to know how to look around and describe the _world_ and its people besides her few main characters.

- and the clincher - none of these characters are very likable. Alix is irritating: stubborn as sin, kind of dumb, and super naive. Duncan is sexist, unyielding, and boring. Finn is a perpetual teenage would-be rapist, until he stops, and then he's just kind of mopey since he has no one to bang. Carillon is bland and dumb. Rowan and Lachlan are actually okay, if still also caricatures.

- Now apply everything I said about characters to the cultures of this world. We're supposed to like the Cheysuli, but they aren't developed beyond being "great warriors" (because of their shapechanging abilities and fighting techniques, I assume, since it's never explicitly explained), who (males only!) bond with special animals called lir, are intensely patriarchal, and all follow this ancient prophecy that determines how every individual will live their life. Also, as Finn explains in the first book, it's totally okay with them to rape non-Cheysuli women in order to produce more Cheysuli babies, since the race has become endangered. Now there's a big WTF.

And does blindly following some ancient prophecy really give you the right to sound all wise when you make proclamations about it? No, it doesn't, because we have no sense of where this prophecy came from or whether their gods are real, or what. Their magic is real, sure, but their factual history is so poorly illuminated that it makes the prophecy stuff hard to accept, or to really "get" as being so important and unchangeable. The "wisdom" in this book is "you don't get to make your own choices, you have to follow the prophecy and play your role. OR ELSE."

And we never see any other cultures. Why should I think the Cheysuli are especially cool when A) they suck and B) I don't know anything about the other cultures? Who _are_ the Homanans, the Atvians, the Solindish? We don't get to know. "Boring white people," I guess.

There is even more beyond these things, but these are the biggies. I hope you wasted 5 minutes reading this or other reviews, instead of wasting the hours it will take you to read the books.

This first book in a set of eight draws you into a world of magic and intrigue. It starts with Alix, a croft girl infatuated with the prince of her homeland, when both are kidnapped by a Cheysuli Shapechanger they are forced to acknowledge their own personal beliefs about the treatment of the exiled Cheysuli. Alix must come to accept her true (Cheysuli) heritage and ultimately her place in the prophecy that governs this magically race. The entire set is so well written a person gets lost in the story and will find herself reading for hours, so intranced, she feels she is part of its happenings and eager to find out what will happen next. The Chronicles span nearly 100 years and the intertwining of Cheysuli and four other races to complete the prophecy. There is danger and mystery, love and loss and enough emotion to move even the hardest of hearts. Ms. Roberson makes a person feel as if each emotion is her own. I have had the complete set for years and find myself re-reading it over and over again just to relive it all. I just hope that Jennifer Roberson will see fit to add to the collection and epic so we can all go back to Homana and the power of the Cheysuli.

Yes, this book portrays women as seeming to only be worthwhile when they are serving a man in bed OR having his children...

Alix is wanted romantically by BOTH her cousin AND her half brother and NO ONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH THIS!!!

Ewwww - gross..... There has to better fantasy with strong female characters....

It's true, I have been waiting a long time to start this series, but the thought of hunting down 8 single books, most of them out of print, was a little daunting. Seeing it re-released in "omnibus" form was a pleasant surprise. I have always heard of the Cheysuli series and how you can see Ms Roberson's talents mature throughout the series. Having done all this buildup I will say that I did love the author's intro and the first novel. How Alix learns to accept herself and her blood and find a place in the world is quite good. The second novel, from Carilllon's POV was a little harder to wade through. The abrupt switch from third- to first-person kept me puzzled for a while, then just made it hard for me to follow conversations. The ending was neat, but not complete, obviously leaving room for "omnibus 2- the Second coming".. just a joke. The added bonus of a short story was nice to find at the end. Anyway, this is a very different style than the sword-sworn books, but a nice creation of multiple cultures and new worlds. Did remind me slightly of Andre Norton's witch world and the way they change to animals and the horses aren't frightened, but not in a bad way.

Even if you hadn't read the books when they first came out, if you're a fantasy fan of such likes as JRR Tolkien or the Wheel of Time, you've found yourself a niche in this wonderful, emotional series by Jeniffer Roberson. Rarely is it that we find a series of books written with such devotion, love, and obvious caring for the characters, such maturity and lyrical prose. When a character dies....you FEEL it as though it were a friend of yours. Miss Roberson manages to convey in this wonderful world all the things we wish we could be and all the thing that should be said in today's society. Vivid, strong, confident and mesmerizing, the Chronicles of the Cheysuli should not be missed by anyone young or old.

Ignore the nay-sayers. This series is what got me hooked on fantasy! I honestly don't think Jennifer Roberson gets nearly as much credit as she deserves for Chronicles of the Cheysuli. I first started this series when I was thirteen and from that moment on I lived and breathed the world of these characters for years. I was actually most enthralled with the last book "A Tapestry of Lions" where we get to hear the story almost entirely from the Ihlini side. A twist that just blew my mind at the time! But I was crushed after I realized the series was over. So I went on to devour Jennifer's other series starting with "Sword-Dancer."

Jennifer's female characters are amazing! I love how strong and courageous they are! Before her I'd stayed away from fantasy precisely because I thought it was all about boys going off and saving the world while the women either stayed home or stood on the sidelines gazing fondly at them. Jennifer's Alix immediately caught my attention and opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me. In fact, I think Robert Jordan can learn a thing or two about creating strong female characters from her.

I'm especially excited now because I visited Jennifer's official site (http://www.cheysuli.com) and found out she will be writing three more books in the Cheysuli Chronicles. One of which involves the forbidden romance between Hale and Lindir, which is what the entire series extended from so I can't wait to find out exactly how it happened.

I love all the characters so much and some of the concepts are far more advanced than most detractors of the tale are willing to concede including Tahlmorra (fate, kismet), meijahs (Cheysuli mistresses), the qu'mahlin (the racial war that started it all), the a'saii (Cheysuli zealots dedicated to a pure line of descent), i'toshaa-ni (Cheysuli purification ceremony; atonement ritual), the Prophecy of the Firstborn, and of course the lir (animal familiars that enable Cheysuli to take animal form).

The politics between Homana and the other kingdoms (especially Solinde) are also well done. Basically, if you haven't read this series yet then pick it up and read it right away! You'll walk away with a family of characters that you're sure to treasure forever.

I could not even finish this book. I tried, truly, I did. I kept waiting and hoping it would get better. The premise seemed good, a shape-shifting race on the verge of extinction. Here were the major problems:

1. I knew SOMETHING was wrong with her writing style, and I couldn't put my finger on it until I read another reviewer mentioning the over usage of adverbs. "Frowningly"? eeeeew. What an awkward word.

2. Finn, would-be unrepentant incestuous rapist. It's also implied he actually HAS raped before. Need I say more?

3. Alix. I couldn't connect with her AT ALL. In fact, I kept forgetting her NAME. It's odd, like all the ingredients were there. I usually feel outraged on behalf of kidnapped, almost raped women, which leads to a certain kinship and caring. But 'ol whats-her- face? Nada.

3. Duncan. *sigh* what a ho-hum snore of a leading man. I could have finished the book if their relationship were REMOTELY believable. I've seen 14 year olds with more passion and depth.

4. Tahlmora... how often do I need to read that word? I'll tell you; at least twice a page. And usually breathed with awe or conviction or utmost reverence. Or so I gather, because it's the only word in the sentence.

5. Women are only as fit as their womb. Did you know? Now you do. Consider yourself enlightened. Bet that's something those Zen masters won't teach ya. Fools that they are.

6. The introduction was basically name dropping and "Look at me! People said I couldn't and I did! Aren't I grand?" If Roberson had an ounce of talent I would understand her arrogance. One shouldn't sing their OWN praises. Such immodestly is unbecoming. It's her attempting modesty while simultaneously telling how she's SO successful, and SO talented and simply BURSTING with amazing ideas that for the good of mankind, MUST be written.

7. (This space reserved for other flaws in either plot, writing style, or creed I missed because I couldn't stomach reading passed page 150)

However. Maybe arrogant authors and sexist fantasy appeals to you. Maybe, just maybe, you like incestuous, unrepentant, would-be rapists. You, in all your glory, absolutely lovingly ADORE adverbs. In such a case, pretend I gave this book 5 stars and you, my blessing.

I barely made it through the first book before giving up on this series. Around 60% of the story seems to consist of the exact same circular conversations and arguments over and over and over and over... There are many other problems, the grating nature of almost all of the characters, the lack of world building (which was sad because the Cheysuli had the potential to be quite interesting), but it's the repetition that really got to me. Conversations that had to happen once, maybe twice just kept resurfacing, which finally made me realize, this apparently "strong-willed" heroin never actually does anything, never takes action to change her situation other than to whine about it again and again. This apparently fascinating culture is never actually explained except when the characters mumble sagely (and vaguely) about "the prophesy", which they do again and again so that the culture never acquires any depth.

The Chronicles of the Cheysuli was eight books written between 1984 and 1992. I was browsing at a book store and came across the release omnibus set SHAPECHANGER"S SONG and was drawn to read it. It is the first two books in one book now. This first book contains SHAPECHANGERS and THE SONG OF HOMANA. I feel in love with the story. Jennifer Roberson introduces us to the Cheysuli, shapechangers and the other races so well. The lir, you will meet them, are such a great add on. Try this fantasy set, so enjoyable. Highly recommended.